Vampire Flavored Alphabet Drabbles
by shineyma
Summary: Trying to break my writer's block by writing drabbles from a prompt table in no particular order. These are my TVD responses. Now up: Age: Acting like kids is a surprisingly effective way of making things better.
1. Grin

Prompt: Grin  
>Author: shineyma<br>Word Count: 500  
>Fandom: The Vampire Diaries<br>Spoilers: Sort of up to 3x06  
>CharactersPairings: Caroline  
>Summary: Getting ready on the first day of school, Caroline reflects.<p>

A/N: Okay, this time I actually have a _reason_ for semi-angsty introspective Caroline fic. It's a build up for another drabble (I'm really stretching the word here. Please forgive me). So I have an excuse!

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><p>Caroline is happy. Really, why shouldn't she be? She's healthy (for certain values of the world), she's finally building a good relationship with her mom, she's gorgeous (although that's nothing new), and it's the start of a new school year.<p>

Maybe the last would be a con for most girls, but Caroline loves the start of the school year. And the end of the school year. And Christmas break. And—okay, look, Caroline's a cheerful sort of person, all right? A little thing like the time of year isn't going to get her down.

But she especially loves the start of school. It's a time of new beginnings, of possibilities! She gets a thrill from the whole process: decorating her locker, getting her new schedule, even checking out textbooks. The best part is the first day of classes, when she gets to find out which teachers she has, which classes she has with Bonnie and Elena, and how often she'll get to go by the notice board. (Look, she puts _effort_ into that thing; it's only natural that she enjoys walking by and appreciating it.)

So she's in an excellent mood this morning as she's getting ready. She's perfectly happy… until she looks in the mirror.

She's not smiling.

Well, okay, she is. But it's not her usual 300 watt the-world-is-perfect-and-so-am-I grin. It's her 100 watt my-heart-is-stomped-to-pieces-but-I'm-Caroline-_freaking_-Forbes-and-I'm-not-gonna-let-it-show smile.

It's a good smile, a very convincing fake (she's had plenty of practice), but it's not the _right_ smile. She's happy, things are great, and there's no reason for this smile.

Well.

Okay, so maybe her boyfriend is suddenly a Hybrid. And maybe her dad hates her. And maybe her two best friends are both fairly miserable (for fairly similar reasons: boy trouble and death, either one of which would be plenty on its own). And maybe she's got a ticking clock above her head, slowly counting down just how long she can get away with staying in Mystic Falls before someone realizes she's not aging. And maybe—

Her phone chimes a text alert and she snaps out of her thoughts. Her smile has downgraded to the 50 watt life-sucks-but-at-least-I'm-still-pretty.

It's Bonnie's ring tone, so she tears her eyes from the mirror and looks at her phone.

_You coming?_

She takes a deep breath. She imagines that she can hear the resignation and depression in Bonnie's voice, even though it's just a two word text message. She knows Elena would be even worse. She needs to do something about this.

_Yeah_, she types back. _We should have a girls' weekend this Friday._

_Sounds great_, is the reply. _You, me, and Elena at my place?_

She smiles and sends back a quick '_yes!'_ before grabbing her bag. The prospect of a girls' weekend in her future bumps her smile back up to 100 watts. It's not her best (not nearly), but it'll fool everyone except the people who count.

And honestly, she doesn't have a smile that _can_ fool them.

So this'll do.


	2. Bliss

Prompt: Bliss  
>Author: shineyma<br>Word Count: 300  
>Fandom: The Vampire Diaries<br>Spoilers: Through 3x08  
>CharactersPairings: Caroline, Bonnie, Elena  
>Summary: A girls' weekend is completely necessary.<p>

A/N: This is part two of my little drabble trilogy. Well, it's a trilogy at the moment. Somehow it keeps growing. Let me know what you think!

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><p>So it turns out the girls' weekend is even more necessary than she thought it would be. Tyler's a slave to Klaus and possibly thinking of cheating on her with Rebekah. Jeremy <em>did<em> cheat on Bonnie. And Elena—well, Elena's got a whole host of problems.

So a girls' weekend is pretty much exactly what the doctor ordered.

Bonnie volunteered her house casually, but there's actually a reason for it. Bonnie's house is safest. Caroline is the only vampire who has an invitation to the Bennett house, so there will be no undead party crashers.

(The thought of her invitation brings a surge of warmth to Caroline. It's fairly recent and it was hard earned. The moment when Bonnie invited her into the house was one of the best of her life. It was concrete, definite trust. So she can't help it if she gets a little teary when she thinks about it, okay?)

She and Elena show up at Bonnie's at six o'clock Friday night. Elena's got ice cream and popcorn, Caroline has movies. The three of them unanimously agreed that romantic comedies were a no-go for once, so Caroline's got a handful of childhood favorites.

They get Chinese delivered. They sit on the ground in the living room, between the couch and the coffee table, and eat out of each others' cartons. _Sleeping Beauty_ is playing in the background, but they're not really paying attention as they fight over the fried rice and complain about the pile of homework Ric gave them.

It's familiar and perfect and exactly what they need.

Caroline uses chopsticks and makes fun of Bonnie for not being able to manage them. Elena interjects with a snarky comment about impromptu stakes and how Caroline should be grateful.

They've accepted her completely. That's perfect, too.


	3. Age

Prompt: Age  
>Author: shineyma<br>Word Count: 400  
>Fandom: The Vampire Diaries<br>Spoilers: Through 3x08  
>CharactersPairings: Caroline, Bonnie, Elena  
>Summary: Acting like kids is a surprisingly effective way of making things better.<p>

A/N: This is the end of my little "girls' weekend" trilogy. I hope you enjoyed. Please tell me what you think!

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><p>"So, what next?" Bonnie asks once they've cleared the remains of their dinner away. "Caroline, options?"<p>

"We have several!" Caroline informs her cheerfully, pulling the DVDs out of her purse. "_The Little Mermaid, Halloween Town, Hocus Pocus, Beauty and the Beast,_ and _Holiday in the Sun_."

"_Holiday in the Sun_?" Elena echoes, snatching the case from Caroline's hands. "I cannot believe you still have this!"

"Of course I do!" Caroline says, offended. "It's got our anthem on it!"

Bonnie cracks up and Elena quickly follows her. Caroline manages to keep a straight face for about three seconds before she succumbs, too.

"Put it in," Bonnie orders Elena once they've recovered.

Elena obeys, and the three of them settle in to watch the movie. It's an old Mary-Kate and Ashley movie with a fairly predictable plot, but it's familiar and comforting. They exclaim over a young Megan Fox and laugh about how much they used to love the movie.

The best part is the scene at the party where their 'anthem' plays.

It's a catchy little pop song called 'Us Against the World' and to their nine-year-old selves it had seemed like the best song ever. They'd adopted it as their anthem when they were kids and had annoyed their parents by going around singing it for _months_.

Somehow, after the movie ends, they find themselves going onto iTunes and searching for the song. It's actually there, and Bonnie buys it instantly. She presses play and it's like the three of them are nine years old again. They'd divided the verses way back when, and all three of them are surprised to find that they still remember all of it.

They dance around the living room, singing their parts, and collapse into laughter when the song is over.

"Okay, this is our new ringtone," Elena declares through her giggles. "Bonnie, make it so!"

Bonnie creates the ringtone and immediately sets it for Caroline and Elena. Then she texts them an all-caps reminder to do the same the instant they get home.

They're giggling and happy and Caroline realizes that she hasn't seen her best friends so carefree since Elena's parents died—maybe even longer. They still have problems, tons of problems—most of them starting in 'K' and ending in 'laus'—but they're not here tonight. Like (almost all) vampires, they aren't welcome in Bonnie's home.

And that's enough for tonight.


End file.
